"It remains to be seen if Sepp Kuss will be a factor in the GC after that time trial" - Phillipa York's analysis of Vuelta a Espana GC following huge raid
Cycling
The Vuelta a Espana was turned on it's head on the sixth stage. A huge breakaway stacked with GC contenders stood out and gained time on the favourites, whilst behind the victory contenders also dealt each other blows on the tough slopes of Javalambre.
"First there were two, in Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard. Now Sepp Kuss has been added to the equation. By putting Soudal-Quickstep under the cosh from the very start of Thursday’s stage, Jumbo have managed to place the American back in the overall fight and expose Evenepoel’s relative weakness on the steepest slopes," York said in a column for Cyclingnews.
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The race's nature has changed and although the gaps are not overly big, now Lenny Martínez finds himself in the lead of the race, but Sepp Kuss follows right after and still carries a sizeable gap over Remco Evenepoel. How far or well the American can go is a question that only the road will tell, but as it stands he's become a very important pawn for Jumbo-Visma to race defensively.
"Lenny Martinez’s time in the race lead is a big thing for the young French climber and Groupama-FDJ but I doubt he’ll be too much of a worry in the eyes of those who are thinking of the podium places in Madrid," York argues. "Like Enric Mas and Mikel Landa, that individual time trial is likely to see to heap of time lost to those who excel in the discipline."
The time-trial will likely balance the differences, however there are still mountains to climb until then. It is a brutal race however with plenty mountain stages and only two have been raced so far. She argues that there is no reason yet to make conclusions.
"It remains to be seen if Sepp Kuss will be a factor in the GC after that time trial, and we shouldn’t discount the UAE Team Emirates duo of Juan Ayuso and João Almeida, or for that matter Can Uijtdebroeks and his Bora-Hansgrohe team leader Aleksandr Vlasov. None of them are out of the overall battle just yet even if they aren’t the ones making the decisions at the moment."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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😍 @lennymrtz1 with La Roja #LaVuelta23
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